Slag conditioner for iron and steel processes

ABSTRACT

A SLAG CONDITIONER FOR USE IN IRON AND STEEL PROCESSES TO CONDITION THE SLAG AND FACILITATE THE DISSOLUTION OF LIME IN THE SLAGE COMPRISING ESSENTIALLY CONSTITUENTS OF CALCIUM FLUORIDE, AND MANGANESE AND IRON IN THE FORM OF AN OXIDE OR CARBONATE. FINES OF THE CONSTITUENTS ARE BRIQUETTED WITH A BINDER WHICH QUICKLY YIELDS ITS BINDING PROPERTIES UPON SUBJECTION TO HIGH TEMPERATURES AND AN ADDITION OF NO MORE THAN APPROXIMATELY TWENTY PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF AN OXIDE OF BORON, WHILE NOT NECESSARY, MAY BE MADE TO FURTHER ENHANCE THE CHARACTERISTICS THEREOF. THE MANGANESE IS PREFERABLY SUPPLIED FROM WASTE OR BY-PRODUCT DUST FROM THE MANUFACTURER OF FERROMANGANESE.

3,799,762 Patented Mar. 26, 1974 United States Patent Office 3,799,762 SLAG CONDITIONER FOR IRON AND STEEL PROCESSES Boyd E. Cass, Ligonier, Pa, assignor to Carad, Inc. No Drawing. Filed May 17, 1971, Ser. No. 144,228 Int. Cl. C21c 7/00; C22b 9/10 US. CI. 75-55 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A slag conditioner for use in iron and steel processes to condition the slag and facilitate the dissolution of lime in the slag comprising essentially constituents of calcium fluoride, and manganese and iron in the form of an oxide or carbonate. Fines of the constituents are briquetted with a binder which quickly yields its binding properties upon subjection to high temperatures and an addition of no more than approximately twenty percent by weight of an oxide of boron, while not necessary, may be made to further enhance the characteristics thereof. The manganese is preferably supplied from waste or by-product dust from the manufacturer of ferromanganese.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the invention This invention relates generally to the production of iron and steel and more particularly to increasing the fluidity of oxidizing and refining slags in processes for producing iron and steel by use of a slag conditioner.

v(2) Discussion of the prior art In smelting processes, such as, in the refining of steel, it is the principal function of fluxes to condition the slag so that it is more active chemically and will promote the impurities contained in the molten bath, such as, phosphorus and sulfur, more easily fusible so that they may be more readily removed or combined with another substance in preference to the metal in the bath. The secondary function of the flux is to furnish a substance with which these undesirable elements or compounds may combine in preference to the metal. Slag conditioners are also added to make the slag more active chemically and promote dissolution of the lime flux in the slag.

The principal basic slag flux is burnt limef, In the practice of the basic oxygen furnace process, burnt lime is added to the silicate slag a shorter time after the oxygen blowing process begins. Fluorspar is commonly added as a slag conditioner to the slag to increase its fluidity and to make the slag more fusible. The fluorspar or slag conditioner facilitates the dissolution of the lime in the slag so that the smelting or refining process may be carried out effectively and initiated as soon as possible.

The addition of fluorspar, however, is becoming less desirable because of its increasing scarcity and the inability to obtain good metallurgical grades of fluorspar in large quantities. Also, fluorspar tends to have a corrosive action on the refractory lining of the furnace when used alone in large quantities as a fluxing agent to facilitate the dissolution of the lime in slag.

It has therefore been a prime objective of the steel making industry to find a slag conditioner which is less expensive than fluorspar and which will be at least as effective in rendering the slag more fusible and to facilitate the dissolution of lime in slag.

In substitution of fluorspar as found in nature, it has been suggested that aluminum drosses as produced in the smelting of aluminum be used. Among others, oxides of boron and olivine have also been suggested as substitutes for fluorspar. However, these substitutes for fluorspar have been found to be either impractically expensive or overactive to the extent that their corrosive effect on the furnace refractory lining is undesirable or they possess materials and qualities which when not properly regulated may impart detrimental properties to the molten bath.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel flux and slag conditioner which will fluidize the slag and facilitate the dissolution of lime in the slag more readily than fluorspar alone, gives longer life to refractory linings, and which is less expensive than those slag conditioners presently available on the market.

The slag conditioner of the present invention comprises essentially a combination of constituents of calcium fluoride, and manganese and iron in the form of an oxide or carbonate. In addition thereto a small amount (no more than approximately twenty percent by weight) of an oxide of boron may be beneficially included. However, while the eifects of this addition are beneficial, it is by no means necessary.

The slag conditioner is preferably provided in briquetted form consisting of the fines of the major constituents in commonly found compound forms cohered with a binder which quickly yields its binding properties upon subjection to high temperatures. The preferred portions of the major constituents in relation to each other are as follows:

Units CaF 10-55 Mn 5-20 Fe 5-25 DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The basic constituents of calcium fluoride, manganese and iron are generally and preferably provided in the form of fluorspar or a slurry by-product containing CaF from the manufacture of fluorine containing chemicals, manganese ore or flue dust collected from a ferromanganese producing furnace or the like, and iron ore, scale or other source of iron oxide respectively.

In a typical example of the slag conditioner of the present invention, 15-80 parts per hundred of fluorspar fines are mixed with 8-30 parts per hundred of manganese dust (recovered ferromanganese flue dust) and 8-35 parts per hundred scale or iron oxide fines. This mixture is then further mixed with a binder which quickly yields its cohesion properties upon exposure to high temperatures such as molasses and lime, tall oil or lignite, and the mixture is then briquetted.

By providing the slag conditioner in the form of briquetted fines bound with a binder as taught by the present invention, the lump form of the briquette permits it to' sink into solution with the slag without being blown out the flue and also provides a component particle size which immeasurably improves the reaction rate effect of the agglomerated chemicals for putting the lime into solution. These fines thus intersperse and get into solution faster'than lump form. In other words, the binder holds the particles together in lump form which permits introduction of the slag conditioner into the slag without loss. Upon contact with the slag, the binder yields so that the briquette constituents are once again in a fine particle state which will readily combine with the slag to get the carbonate or iron may be beneficial agentsin I 3 desired efiects at a muchgreater rate than possible. when thefl es areaddedinlump for'rn.

In actual experimental use, an oxide. of boronw s'also added. in the; form of. raso'ritefin the amount pf'no. n1ore than about thirty-two parts per hundred (aPPLOXiI'Ifiately 5 Q tx e -tspe hund edp x e 1 10 1.); 4

nwas found"thattheresultant briquette wa in a f hich -read nspor a l a d p i ed ai es col ditioner'which was} at least as .etfectiv, e' th 'fl'uij'r'spar ne. n owering the melting r of the lag 'andin fluidiz' in'g the same and'iri makin t morefus bleto facilitate...th e dissolution ofltlie limearid expedite'. .the refining process. It was also found .thatfthe" furnace refractory lininglifetime was extended incomparison tothe refractory life timefound when. usinghuorsp'ar or an oxide of boron alone, forjexample.. Thus theslag conditioning br'iquette of the present. invention providesa combination of chemicals,'jwhich' in their combined form as taught therein, have prgvenelfectivein improving the solution rateof IiI I'ie in' steel.;l. aking slags," provides component particle sizes of material that measurably improve the reaction rate effect of theagglomerated chemicals for. putting "the limeflint'o solution, and overcomes the disadvantages ofadding' small' particles in the slag whileatthe sametime proyiding anag'glomerated'size' that canbe efiectivelyfan'd veflicientlyjh'ar' dled and which quickly disintegr ates when introduced into the steel makingpigocess. I

The calcium" fliioride content may also be provided in the form of a by-product such as that produced from the manufactuer of aluminum and/or other chemical processes. In such processes, an effluent flue dust is produced which contains fluorine. This efliuent flue dustj=is collected with water and treated with lime whereupon'thefluorine is removed in the form of awaste slurry. These slurries are composed largely of calcium fluoride and may thus also be used in place of natural fluorspar.

In place of the manganese flue dust, one may utilize manganese ore fines depending upon the availabilityfl'and Price.

By mixing the proper. combination of fluorspar or a calcium fluoride by-product with manganese oxide from manganese dust ormanganese ore, and ironoxide from scale, 'one may obtain the requisite constituent units of Cal-T Mn and Fe in relation to each other; namely, 1 55 units CaF with 5-20 units Mn and 5-25 units Fe.

The briquetted slag conditioner may of course be added to the slag either at the sarhe timethat the lime'is ad ded, or soon thereafter. In fact, thelime itself may be i'riclu' ded in are u tte. W

Although each of'the constituents of the slag conditioner of the. present. invention have been sly known o ave b en. added. 'or. e is n tural slagfseparately in onej"fo1ini. or another, 'noj s has? heretofore 'b'een'niade or realized as :tofb taiiiable by the' use of; the specific chemica1 fe or combination of the slag conditioner of th vention which proves tg be'rnore effective bination or composition relationshipas taught in "any, prior use. made. of these elements in known slag conditioners."For example, 'fl has been used widely in the past; It hasalso b that an oxide or carbonate of manganese and an noted in the patent to Charles B. Francis, No. However, none of these previously suggested a'g tioners prove to be as'economical and efiec'tive as-that taught by the present invention which incorporates the advantages of all these chemicals' in particular mombination which provides results better 'than'the.;:efiects.--produced by any of these materials individuallygfIhe briquette or slag conditioner composition of the present invention when introduced into the slag, lowc1?S.--its.-melting point to a lower degree than any onesingle constituent "will permit and unexpectedly provides better allarou d results than any flux or conditioner heretoforein use.

As previously stated, the addition of an oxide of boron is also beneficial when added in an amount of not more than approximately twenty percent. Boron may be added in .the form of rasorite, colemanite, boric acid, anhydrous borax, boron trioxide, calcium metaborate, ulexite, inderite, kernite or kurnakovite.

It is also'interestingto note that the benefits of the inclusion of an Qxide of boron to help fluidize the slag may. be obtained without undue concern as to the possibility of one.incorp'orating"too great an amount of the oxide of iboronfsu'ch that it is detrimental to the properties of the metal being refined and such that the refractorylining of the furnace is unduly corroded, which is the expected result when an oxide of boron is used alone in place of fluorspar. Itis possiblethat an oxide of boron when used alone maybe introduced into the furnace in larger quantities than desired whereupon the properties of the steel will beaifected detrimentally, an oxide of borQn being a very activeflux which in addition has been thought to cause a high corrosion rate on the refractory lining. I

Thus the slagconditioner of the present invention provides a means of getting the lime into solution at a rate which: is at least as fast as that possible by other slag conditioners heretofore known with the added advantage that the refractory life of the furnace is lengthened. Ironically, not only is the combination of constituents as taughtby the present invention more effective, but it provides 'a slag conditioner which is economically more feasible than any other effective slag conditioner heretofore known;

The flux and conditioner of the present invention is also additionally unique and novel in that it makes effective and efficient use of some products or by-products which would otherwise be considered waste.

I claim:

'1. The methodof facilitating the dissolution of the lime content in a basic steel refining slag overlying molten steel ina furnace comprising the steps of charging to the lime containing steel refining slag an additive compound consisting essentially of approximately 10-55 units of calcium fluoride, approximately 5-20 units of manganese and approximately 5-25 units of iron, said units of inclusion' fo'r'each constituent being relative one to the other and maintainin-gthe s'teel molten for dissolution of the lime in the slag to'refine the molten-steel.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said manganese and iron are present in the form of an oxide or carbonate.

3'. The methodof claim 2 wherein said additive'compound is briquetted prior to introduction into the slag.

methodof claim 3 wherein said binder includes method of claim 4'wherein at least a portion of saidjlime is included directly in said briquetted com- ;pound in particulate form.

.Thernethod of claim 1 wherein not more than 20 units of .an ozide of boron are included in said additive compound.

;- he. method of claim 1 wherein said oxide of boron is one or more. selected from the group consisting of rasorite, :colemanite, boric acid, anhydrous borax, boron trioxidc,:-;ca1cium metaborate, ulexite, inderite, kernite and-kn "akovite; 9.1.- r.,- 1 v 9. The-method of claim 1 wherein the calcium fluoride in said additive compound is present in the form of fluor-' spar fines or as by-product fines from =the manufacture of aluminum. 1 i

10. The method of claim. 1 wherein the manganese in said additive compound is present in the form of mangablast furnace.

5 6 nese ore or flue dust collected from a ferromanganese 3,172,756 3/ 1965 Bengtsson 7552 2,767,079 10/1956 Perrin 7554 References Cited 3,258,328 6/1966 Goss 7553 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,276,860 10/1961 LilltZ 7555 10/1934 Davies 7s- 53 x 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 4/1952 Gfaf 7553 787,441 12/1957 Great Britain 7560 12/1935 Smith 7553 5/1939 Nicholas 7554 X L. DEWAYNE RUTLEDGE, Primary Examiner 4/1971 Lewis et a1. 7553 5/1937 Hands X 10 P. D. ROSENBERG, Asslstant Exammer 9/1939 'Francis 7554 X -S- C 10/ 1961 Lambert et al 7552 94 

